WORKERS in Ondo state, under the auspices of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday, protested against the decision of the State governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, to delay the payment of the workers leave allowance until when the State is buoyant.
The workers who kicked against the decision of the governor threatened showdown with the State government as some members of the labour union in the State staged a walkout from the venue of the 2018 Workers’ Day Celebration.
Akeredolu said, ” For me, to pay the left bonus to you is when the government has money to pay so that it will not be as if I didn’t tell you.”
There was an uproar over the governor’s pronouncement while the workers registered their displeasure over the governor’s decision to pay the allowances when the state is buoyant
Akeredolu, however, said ” don’t agree, we also will not agree, we will not pay unless we have money to pay, we will not pay with our blood”
He, however, said the present administration had been able to offset four out of the seven months salary arrears owed by the previous administration while workers salaries are paid as at when due.
He said “this administration has kept its promise not to encourage partisan politics to truncate the careers of deserving public servants. We made a solemn pledge to workers and God that the issue of promotion would be determined on merit. We present our scorecard today to you and posterity on our performance.
“There has also been a monthly release of N200m to the Pensions and Transitional Department to offset backlog of gratuities of retired public servants who had served this State meritoriously.
“Pensions are also paid with salaries of workers. These efforts are in fulfilment of our avowed commitment to prioritise the welfare of workers and that of our “senior citizens”.
“This Administration has approved the sum of N500m as a car loan for civil servants in the State. There is also the Housing Loan which is being disbursed on a continual basis.
“We shall keep our promise to train and retrain public servants for enhanced performance.”
Speaking during the celebration, the TUC chairman in the state, Ekundayo Solagboye, condemned the state of insecurity in the country, saying the spate of killings and bloodletting is on the high side and its making Nigerians to lose hope in the continued existence of the country.
He called on the State government to recruit more teachers into schools in the state saying the rate of a shortage of teachers in the state is worrisome and called on the state governor to pay the 2017 leave allowance of workers in the state.
Also, the NLC Chairman, Bosede Daramola, urged the Federal government not to delay the negotiation of the new minimum wage in the light of the inflation in the country.
Daramola also called on the members of the state Assembly to identify with the aspirations of the people of the country by supporting local government autonomy.
and then